Fluid separator



Dm 10@ 1940 J. T. HEATHMAN Erm. 2,224,345k

FLUID sEPARAToR Filed naif 12, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l i? x M m W rk m ,m um w .n 1T. #mh wwwa, H I IIN IU. VI. m -...la.:\ .s..

FLUID SEPARA'IOR` Filed May l2, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illl n .ma om hum L wf@ H.H dT.. Hd

Patented Dec. 10, 1940 FLUID SEPARATOR l James T. Heathman and Herbert J. Hawthorne, l

, Conroe, Tex. g t

Application May 12, 1938, Serial No. v207,588

y6 Claims.

f Our invention relates to devices for separating' v :fields er disaient specific grammes. It is adapted and separate and ldischarge theiluids thus sepa-1 ratedautomatically to'- separate containers.

It isA ai further object of -the invention to provide aseparatihg .device wherein a plurality ofvalvescontrolling the-outlet of the -tluid from the well'may be operated through one n oat. t y

It is another 'object of the invention to provide means wherebyk the valves" controlling the `outlets may be adjusted from the exterior of the apparatus whenever it becomes necessary to do so in controlling the ilow. f

It is further object of the invention to separate the fluids coming from the well under pressure so that, where the fluids are emulsiiied, the emulsion will be broken up while under the pressure and thus allow the complete separation of said iluids due to different specinc gravities.

We desire to provide an apparatus whereby adjustments both of the float and the valve members may be easily made so that regulation oi' the apparatus may be readily accomplished.

to cause the cooling of the oil upon-expansion..

sure and theoperation of the device relies to some extent upon there being suicient gas pressure coming with the fluid from the well to assist in "the operation'of the device. We contemplate, 3

however, that where suillcient gas pressure is 15 u not present the inlet will be temporarily cut off and pressure fluid vmay be pumped into the tank from an` outside source and an inlet is provided at 3 whereby. thisl may be done. It may be understood therefore that a `compressor or pump may be employed to force iluid under pressure' into the separating tank through the inlet pipe d. The'lower chamber I of the separating tant; is connected through a pipe 4 to a oat reservoir t. VAsthis reservoir isV designed particularly to con-n tain water or liquid of heavier specc gravity it is somewhat elongated and has at its upper end a pressure gauge 6.

At the lower end ofthe float reservoir ii is an The valve 8 isi mounted upon'a valve stem Iii.

Ihis stem is shown as being hollow and has thereon a iloat II positioned on the valvestem in proper positionto be acted upon by thev liquid in the tank-at the proper time'to-raise the valve l from its seat.y l We have shown in Fig. 1 a. hol- .low float jmemberm'ade up of sheet metalA and We also aim to employ the gas under pressure' having Acoxrununication with the interiorofl the reservoir-i 'througli an opening I2 in the rod.

of the gas in our apparatus. The gas is' thus above theiloat andopening I 3 in the rod within maintained dry and the volatile constituents' maintained in the oil. 1

In the drawings, Fis; 1 is a'sectional view o fan apparatus for carrying out our invention, said ,apparatus being shown somewhat diagrammatng; 2 is a. broken detail 11mm-aum;amatuer` embodiment of the iloat` apparatus andthe f method of adjusting the same; I v

f Fig. 3 illustrates additional apparatus which may be used.

'We contemplate receiving the duid from the well within a separating tank I, which may, as shown in 111g. 1, comprise a plurality'oi' separate containers I, Ia and Ib, arranged in superposed position and connected witheach other for the y better separation by gravity of the iluids coma mixture of oil, water and gas, or, where water is not presentgof simply oil and gas. The iluid coming from the well is ordinarily under presv the il'oat. This varrangement is made -so that gas orl fluid pressure within the reservoir may be equalized outside and inside ofthe float so that v e there will be no' danger of 'collapsing theiioat under high iluid pressures. Y

. .The upper chamber I b of the separating tank is connected with a gas reservoir Il. Said reservoir is shorter in length than the oat reservoir and is positioned with its outlet I5 materially above the lower` end of the reservoir 5. Said outlet I 6 is to control the flow fromfthe apparatus of the fluid of lighter specific gravity, such as oil or gas, to the ilow pipe I6. The outlet iis controlled by means oi a valve I'I mountedupcn a valve rod I8, which is connected at its upper f end to a rocker arm I9. The connection .is through a pivot pinv 20, which allows the swinging of the rod relative to the arm. 5g,

' The rocker arm I9 is pivoted between its ends at 22 upon a supportingbracket 23 which has a swivel connection with the upper end of an ad justing rod, 24. Said rod is extended upwardlyv 'through the' wall` of a housing member 25- conm ,yfg

.necting the two reservoirs ii and` I4. There is a stuiilng box 26 around the rod 24 to prevent leakage around the stem. Said stein is threaded adjacent its lower end within a nut or bushing 5 21 connected at its ends to the two reservoirs. A hand wheel 28 is formed on the end of the rod so that said -rod may be screwed within the nut 21 so as to adjust the position of the rocker arm. The end of said rocker arm remote from the valve 10 rod Il is attached at 20 to the valve rod I0. n

When the iluid coming from the well under pressure includes water, gas and oil in varying quantities it will be discharged into the separating tank. The pressure of the gas in the tank will 15 cause a separation of the emulsiiled oil and water so that they will settle apart by gravity. The water level in the container is'indicated byfthe numeral Il. The oil level is indicated by .thenumeral Il and it will be understood that the,

zo space 32 above the oil is illled with gas under material pressure. The separation by gravity willtake place automatically and the water will pass through the pipe 4 to the water outlet 1. The oil will, where the level is high enough, reach 25 the outlet I5 and when said outlet is open will drain out through thepipe I6. The gas will nd an outlet also through the pipe I8. g

It will be seen that the valves and I'Iwill not be opened simultaneously. When the level of 80 the oil in the iloat reservoir 5 is sufllcient to raise the float member II upwardly it will open the valve ...as Lshown in Fig. l, and allow the water to drain out. The loweringoi thewater in the reservoir 5 will allow thev oat andthe valveto 88. drop downwardly and close the opening 'I and simultaneously open lthe"l outlet I5 in the gas reservoir. 'This operation oi'thevalve is performed abruptly due to the surge oi the liquid within the tank. When the valve 8 is oil its seat 10 the water will dischargerapidly through the outlet at that point'and the level oi the liquid in the separating tank will tend to be lowered and there will be a surging oi-the liquid from the separating tank to the float tank so that'the valve will 45 be opened and closed periodically. f

` When the iiowof water has stopped the oil will iiow out through the opening I5 and as the level of the oil is depressed the gas; willalso pass out through this outlet. There is a connection be- 50. tween the gas reservoir and the iloat reservoir through the pipe. This connection is aboveV the oil outlet I5 and also above the normal level of the water in the reservoir 5. 'Ihere is a tendency for oil to condense out of the gas around the oat 55 II and to be deposited on ythe upper surface of the water in the float tank las indicated at I4 in the drawings. When this oil thus condensed upon the water reaches a material amount it may flow through the pipe 33 to the gas reservoir and i 60 iind an outlet with the oil through thevopening Il. l Theoat member may be constructed as shown in Fig. 2 where the iioat member I I is open at the lower end and closed at theupper end. Furthermore. lthe iloat may be adjustable along the valve rod Il,I to any desired level through an adjusting 'rod 3l. Said rod is threaded through a nut n formed on the end ofthe rocker arm 31. The lower end of the rod hasa swivel connection 7 at 31a with the iloat. I'he upper end of the rod has a cross member Il .thereon which maybe engaged by theforked lower end Ifo! a wrench 4l. Said wrench has a fluid-,tight connection through the upper end of thetiioat, tank so that il it may be rotated from outside of the tank; f In It will be obvious that the changesmade in 10 the 'float and the rocker arm will notk materially change the operation of the device. It does, however, make it possible to adjust the operation of the apparatus to better advantage without the necessity of opening up the apparatus.

When water is not present with the iluid comingffrom the well we have the problem of separating the oil from the gas and in such case the kpresent apparatus will be adjusted slightly and the separation can take place as before. It will be desirable to adjust the float further down alongthe valve rod -Ilso that it will be caused to rise and open the outlet for the oil through the ilowpipe ,8. Theggas will iindan outlet entirely through the outlet II from the gas reservoir;

It is desirable, in separating the gas from the oil, to obtain as dry a gas as possible and also to maintainthe oil at alow temperature to prevent .volatilization of the lighter constituents. The apparatusshown in Fig. 3 isnintended forfusein 80 combination with the apparatus of Fig. 1 lor it may. be used in connection with wells producing no oil-water emulsion.` We yhave illustrated it'as adaptedtok receive the oil and gas from' the pipe I6 issuing from the reservoir, I4. 35 Theoil and gas separator includes an oil chamber 4 I, which is in its general construction similar to the water-reservoir 5. It haak an outlet 42 at its lowerend. theupper ,end of which is` formed into a valve seat to receive the valve` 43. The outi0 let disconnected with an oil ilow pipe 44 which maybe understood-as leading to a place oi.' storage. The oil and gas flowing through the pipe I8 enters the chamber 4I through the inlet 45.

'I'he .valve 43 is formed atthe .lower end of a 45 valve rod 46, which is connected at its upper end to an arm 4,'I.l Said arm. is extended laterally and threaded to engage witha threaded rod .48.' The rotation of said rod v48-will ,screw the arm 41k up or down,-depending upon the direction of rota- 50 tion thereof. f j f j The vthreaded rod 48 has secured to its upper lend arigid cross arm 49 whichmay cooperate with a wrench 39' similar in general construction to the arm 39 disclosed in Fig. 2. The lower 55 end of the rod-4l vhas a head 50 thereon which has a. swivel connection with the 'upper end lII of ailoatkmembex'` 52.l q

Said iloat has its upper end closed and its lower endopen, as in the Fig. 2 type oi neat., Said iloat B0 has a central tubular member I3 to allow the passage longitudinally `ofthe noat-oi the valve rod, 46.V By thisarrangement it will be understood that the level or the iioat relative to the valve rod may be varied to adjust the .operation o! the 05 device` Connected with thek upper end of theoil chamber 4I bylway.l of a; lateral passage 54 is a chamber Il Said chamber has an outlet IC at I its` lower end,'t11e Aiiow therethrough being oontrolled by a valve 51 mounted upona valve rod 70 e two valves and ,58 are connected bya rocker` arm Il.y Said rocker arm is pivotedupon a iulcrum pin 6l supported by a .-yokell at the lowerend` of the adjusting rod l2. Bald adiustu 'mannerwevare .blefto 2,224,345 fmg rod has a ud .fight connection 63 throiig he position of the to get an acvalve 'reiter einen'. curate operation of the The gas passing the outlet 56 is carried through the pipe 66 to an outer housing 61 for the gas chamber 4I. Said housing is spaced from the wall of the oil chamber to form between the same and the oil chamber a space 68, which is adapted to receive the gas from the gas chamber. It will be understood that gas coming through the pipe 66 will be under pressure not materially reduced from the well pressure and this may, of course,

,be as high as two thousand pounds per square inch or more.

As the gas enters the chamber 68 surrounding the oil chamber it will expand and be materially cooled. The space 68 will therefore be lled with gas under a temperature lower than the normal atmospheric tmperature and will serve to cool both the oil and the gas. The gas expanding in the chamber 68 may nd an outlet through the pipe 69 adjacent the lower end of the housing 61.

It will be understood that this device will operate in a manner similar to the devices previously described. The oil accumulating in the oil chamber 4| will gradually raise the oat 52 and thus tend to raise the valve 43 from its seat and allow the dra'ining out of the oil. When the oil valve is raised the gas valve 51 will be closed and gas will accumulate in the oil chamber 4l and pass through the passage 54 into the gas chamber. When the oil level has been lowered the oil outlet will be closed and the gas outlet opened and gas will pass through the pipe 66 to the cooling chamber within the housing 61 and will pass out through the pipe 69 to a place of storage.

By means of this structure we are not only enabled to separate the oil from the gas but we are enabled to cool the oil in the oil chamber and also materially cool the gas. The result will be that the gas will be comparatively dry and the oil will maintain the volatile constituents therein and will pass in a relatively cool condition into the oil ilow line. It is of material value to maintain the oil in a cool condition as it is flowed into the tank due to the fact that the loss of the volatile portions thereof is materially decreased and a higher grade of oil is obtained.

Itwill be noted that the device as thus arranged is exceedingly simple in construction. It will cause the separation of the fluids from the well so that they will be automatically discharged without any danger of their being mixedV fat the outletsV fr'omthe tank.

The automatic features of our device make it unnecessary for an attendant to give any close attention to the operation thereof. The oil, waterr and gas will each be separated from the other uids from the Well and may be directed tothe proper ow lines leading to the place of storage. Furthermore,. we are able to maintain a low temperature of the oil' and gas as it is discharged from the apparatus which thus increases theA value both of the oil and the gas in that the gas is a dry gas while the oil retains its volatile portion unimpaired. Y

We claim: -1. In a fluid separatorincluding, a separating tank for fluids under pressure having gas and ssl In tins outlets, said ,outletwfromsaid he e h reservoir.

2. In a fluid separator, a separating tank to receive vfluid from a well under pressure, a gas and oil vreservoir connected with fthe upper end hat reservoirs connected therewith and havinfi' of saidl tank to receive fluid therefrom, a oatl reservoir for oil and water connected with the lower end of said tank, outlets at the lower ends .of said reservoirs, a Walking beam, means to adjustably support said beam, valve rods at the opposite ends of said beam, a iloaton the valve rod in said float reservoir, a valve on each rod adapted to engage within one of said outlets, and an approximately horizontal passage from said iioat reservoir to said gas and oil reservoir spaced slightly above the outlet from the latter reservoir.

3. In a fluid separator, a separating tank t0 receive fluid from a well under pressure, a gas and oil reservoir connected with the upper end of said tank to receive uid therefrom, a oat reservoir for oil and water connected with the lower end of said tank, outlets at the lower ends of said reservoirs, a walking beam, means to adjustably support said beam, valve rods at the opposite ends of said beam, a float on the valve rod in said oat reservoir, a valve on each rod adapted to engage within one of said outlets, and an approximately horizontal passage from said float reservoir to said gas and oil reservoir spaced slightly above the outlet from the latter reservoir, said oat being slidable on the valve rod in said iloat chamber, and means .to

said float reservoir, outlets from said reservoirs for fluid, valves at said outlets, the outlet from 'said gas reservoir being approximately on a level with the upper end of said tank, valve rods onv said valves, a rocker arm connecting the upper ends of said rods, a float on said valve rod inv said iloat chamber and meansy to adjust the level of said rocker arm and said rods.

5. In a fluid separator including, a separating tank for fluids uncler pressure having `a gas reservoir connected with the upper end thereof and a iloatreservoir connected with the lower end thereof, outlets at the lower ends of said reservoirs, valves at said outlets, said outlet from said gas reservoir being at a higher level than the outlet from said iloat reservoir, and approximately even with the upper end of said tank, valve rods on said valves, rn approximately horizontal rocker arm connecting said rods and housed in said reservoirs, means to adjust the level oi said rocker arm and a iloat on the valve rod in said iloat reservoir.

6. In a. fluid separator including, a separating tank for fluids under pressure, gas and oat reslevelfaldrockernmnostonthevnlverod m Y m Y 0 www mm un www m g m mm m mi www N www. Mmmm mmm www mu y 

